DAPKAM GETS HEALTH PLANNING SERVICES COMPOUND (PAGE 34)

Story: Vincent Adedze, Dapkam

THE people of Dapkam in the Nanumba North District of the Northern Region would no longer travel several kilometres from the town to seek medical attention.
This follows the inauguration of a GH¢45,000 Community-Based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compound in the area.
The initiative was a collaborative effort of the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), World Servants, the Assemblies of God and Relief Services (AGREDS) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The facility will serve a total of 17 communities in and around Dapkam.
For several years, the people of the area had been travelling from Dapkam to Bimbilla and Salaga to seek medical attention, resulting in the untimely death of some of the patients on the way due to the long distance involved.
World Servants provided funds for the construction of the CHPS block while the CCFC, through its Nanumba Child Development Programme, and AGREDS, supported the initiative with a motorbike, a freezer, an eight-seater KVIP public place of convenience, a bath and urinary.
Other facilities the CCFC and its partners made available included 10 benches, desks, chairs, some internal fittings like doors louvre frames and blades, ceiling fans and beds, estimated at GH¢13,000.
In his inaugural address, the Executive Director of AGREDS, Mr Joseph Wumbee, observed that the facility “stands as a proud landmark shoulder to shoulder with other CHPS compounds in the country.”
According to him, patients who were already visiting the compound would be the first to benefit from the health care facility.
The Communications Manager of the CCFC, Mr Justin Bayor, said the CHPS compound was “a reflection of the fact that partnership and collaboration yielded great dividends to communities, women and children”.
He paid glowing tribute to the people of Dapkam for their communal spirit that made it possible for the various development partners to provide the facility.
Mr Bayor called for greater collaboration among all relevant institutions to help initiate viable projects in deprived communities.
The Nanumba Health District Director of Health Services, Madam Tia, stated that the facility would enable the GHS to deliver quality health care to the people.
She commended the regional health directorate for its immense contribution towards the establishment of the CHPS compound, and advised the people to patronise the facility.